Cavalock and The No Vacation Post

So exactly a year ago, we got back from Tokyo and even started making plans to return to the city but who knew? Not having travelled for a year isn't as bad as it sounds. Back when I was taking care of me late Mom and Aunt, I don't think we left the country for a pretty long while too. Which got me thinking bout the folks who would pay for the SQ home meal delivery. It's at least 300 bucks and way I see it, there are better dining options out there at that price tag. For those who can easily afford it, chances are you have already experienced the real deal and I really don't think you would wanna pay that amount to have it (again) in your home. But maybe that's just me. I suppose if you are a young dating couple, you would wanna do something like that to impress someone? 

Anyway, looking at some of the vacation pix I took last year, Japan should be in a Halloween mood right about now. I don't think I wrote bout this in any previous Japan post but we found the Echire Boutique near our hotel at Marunouchi during our holiday there. They are the producers of the gourmet butter from the village of Echire in western France and it's frequently used in fancy joints round the world. Their famous croissants were sold out when we there in the evening so we got a bag of heavenly madelines and financiers instead. And that last pix of Tokyo Station platforms, it's from our room at Marunouchi Hotel.

Sometimes I do wish I was to all kinds of hijinks like before, so I got stuff or 'content' to blog about but we can't always have what we want or eat what we want, hence the lack of any food related posts for awhile now. Well, that's not entirely true, last week I had a wonderful dinner at a friends's place and where I had my very first taste of banh mi, the popular Vietnamese sandwich. Yes, I have never had one before, it just never appealed to me for whatever reason. Well, the homemade one I had that night was great. with generous grilled chicken in every bite. After dinner we got into some boardgames like camel racing game Camel Up, In Front of the Elevators where we queue and joust for positions in front of elevators, and ended the night with the hippie game of Aquarius. 

Cavalock and The All-Tokyo Flashback Post

From visiting the new Tokyo Starbucks Reserve Roastery to hand-carrying a freshly baked apple pie home from Japan, it's certainly fun to look back at last July's trip to Japan. And since we definitely won't be leaving the country anytime soon, I figured a little look back might be a way to beat the stay-at-home blues. Gawd knows I still got a whole buncha pix that I haven't posted from that trip. Hah!  

I remember this drink. The first beer of the day as well as the trip. Nothing like a little lunchtime buzz to into the holiday mood. Ah, the Tokyo Starbucks Reserve Roastery is definitely one of those places that I might very well visit again if given the opportunity. It's a nice neighbourhood and I will always want to drop by the Traveler's Notebook flagship store around the corner. 

Some of the things the Baker-at-Home and myself have been doing to quell the wanderlust is to watch the Japanese cable channel WakuWaku as well as other food and travel shows like Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. We really prefer shows on WakuWaku where it's just the hosts and guests exploring neighbourhoods in Tokyo or parts of Hokkaido. The Baker-at-Home would be making mental notes of where to visit next time while I would be squinting at the subtitles. Meanwhile here are just more random pix from July 2019 of the old normal where travelling and enjoying ourselves in a foreign land was almost second nature to us. 

Cavalock and The New Traveler's Notebook Journey

An excellent little and I do mean 'little' oden joint that we had dinner was at Nakameguro. Toridashioden Samon is located just under the next to Nakameguro train station, next to Meguro River and it's pretty good idea to have dinner there after visiting the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo which is just about 15 minutes walk away.

Lots of choices and reasonably priced too. Get ready to stand in line as it's pretty popular. Love the daikon. The two big chicken balls are nice too as the tiny bits of cartilage in them give them that little extra crunch and texture. Also first time having yakitori oden-style instead of the usual grilled. Go if you want great and affordable street food.

It's something I have had my eye on for awhile now and finally decided to put it up during my Tokyo vacation with the guys a couple months ago. Yup, so I bought a Traveler's Notebook. It's a writing journal and more. I have been using a Moleskin journal for couple years now and did the switch after reading how versatile the Japanese Traveler's Notebook is.

The options to customise and personalise the Traveler's Notebook was what first drew me to it. Then I saw all them millions and millions of YouTube videos about it, read the articles bout it and I kinda fell in love with the whole concept or idea behind it. Like most Japanese products, it's also cheaper to get it in Japan than in Singapore.

So like I said, I bought during my trip with the guys but I only opened it when I got back home then a week after that, me and the Baker-at-Home headed back to Japan and that's when I went crazy with it.
My old day job as a writer provided me with many writing opportunities and so does the Traveler's Notebook. It's kinda hard to explain since there really shouldn't be anything stopping me from writing what I want as and when I like, if you know what I mean.

Well, becos of me Traveler's Notebook, I have also gotten back to dipping my toe in fountain pen calligraphy as well as picking up some very basic water-colour painting. I have always enjoyed using me fountain pen ever since I first used it back when it was part of the primary school curriculum. Yah, it's no longer part of it and you guys don't know what you are missing! I still remember how one day I forgot to cap my pen and the ink just leaked out right through me school uniform's breast pocket. Today I'm using a German Lamy fountain pen. Was planning to purchase a Japanese fountain pen but the sleek and ergonomically-designed German pen made its no-brainer choice for me.

Well, if there's anyone out there who's also into Traveler's Notebook and journaling, let me know!

Cavalock and The Unexpected Lucy Schroeder Hook-Up

There's just so much amazing food that I just gotta sneaked in another entry bout what we had in Otaru, Hokkaido. I love me some ice-cream and when I saw this, I took it as a challenge. Unfortunately I could only manage three tiers! Was before lunch and I told myself I didn't wanna ruin that! From fresh fruits like melons to delicious dairy produce ice-cream, the dessert choices here were overwhelming to say the least.

Just when you thought you have seen all the weird gashapon machines around Japan, you see something like this and you wonder...

It took them 70 years but it seems like Schroeder finally caved in and hooked up with Lucy?!? I saw this! This here was part of a giant Peanuts anniversary poster in Tokyo Station. Hey, I'm a huge Peanuts fan and I'm kinda surprised yet happy for them. Persistence really pays off? Hmmm... but I'm thinking in today's PC world, Lucy would probably be classified as a stalker?

Cavalock and The Obligatory Hokkaido Food Collages

Still reminiscing bout my Hokkaido trip even though its been almost a month since we were there. So that means it's time for the obligatory food collages! From Hakodate to Otaru to the city of Sapporo, it was fun exploring new eateries as well as re-visiting old ones like fried chicken joint Wakadori Jidai Naruto Honten. One of the most memorable meals we had in Sapporo was back at Salvatore Cuomo. Enjoyed the amazing steak but what we won't forget is the electrifying atmosphere during the live telecast of the Rugby World Cup match between Japan and Samoa. I'm not into live sports telecasts but that night in that restaurant during the match, that was something. All that cheering was rather infectious, unfortunately there were no free drinks after the victory laps. Hah!

Y'see, I can understand when it comes to supporting your home country in sports but I can't wrap my head around folks supporting foreign clubs filled with millionaire sportsmen who some I'll bet has never even heard of your home country. But I digress. It was quite an experience to be in Tokyo during their winning streak, the team was everywhere in the news and you could see the banners and all that. Back to food, another observation we made while in Hokkaido was that the highball drinks appear to be rather diluted, compared to the ones we eventually had in Tokyo.

Cavalock and The Halloween Heavy Post

Yah, I was just here a couple weeks before with the guys but the Baker-at-Home wanted to try the Eggslut herself for breakfast so here we are back in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Wasn't crowded at all compared to when I first walked past the place last month. I still liked my bacon, egg and cheese but I think she thought it was just alright. Well, she definitely didn't like all that grilling going on so near where she was sitting cos it made her clothes smell.

Saying that Halloween is a big deal in Japan is a major understatement. Right now, there's Halloween decor everywhere you look, from the sleepy town of Hakodate to the busy streets of Tokyo. A lot of these are very beautifully done and extremely eye-catching, some rather classy and some cheekily cute. And that's just the decor, the food like snacks and gift boxes are all so damn attractive too.

The hotels we stayed were all decked out in Jack o'lanterns. Yah, that's a Christmas tree covered in little pumpkins. Every confectionery shop has Halloween themed snacks and they all look soooooo tempting. Like I said, they are really into Halloween, no doubt due to the American presence after the Second World War. Years ago, the Baker-at-Home was in Tokyo with her friends on Halloween night and she was freaked out by all the costumed revellers who came out to party in the main streets.